Merchant Shipping Act, 1966

Cargo ship construction and survey rules.

3.—(1) The Minister may make rules (in this Act referred to as cargo ship construction and survey rules) prescribing requirements for the hull, equipment and machinery of ships to which this section applies and requiring any such ships which are registered in the State to be surveyed to such extent, in such manner and at such intervals as may be prescribed by the rules.

(2) The said rules shall include such requirements as appear to the Minister to implement the provisions of the Convention relating to the hull, equipment and machinery of such ships, except so far as those provisions are implemented by any other rules or regulations made under the Merchant Shipping Acts.

(3) This section applies to—

(a) sea-going ships of not less than five hundred tons gross tonnage; and

(b) sea-going ships of not less than such lower tonnage and of such description as the Minister may by order specify;

other than passenger steamers, troopships, pleasure yachts, fishing vessels and ships not propelled by mechanical means; except that it applies to ships not registered in the State only while they are within a port in the State and are not exempted from the cargo ship construction and survey rules under the following provisions of this Act.

(4) The matters with regard to which fees may be prescribed by order under section 5 of the Act of 1952 shall include surveys required by the cargo ship construction and survey rules, and the provisions applied by section 27 (2) of that Act (which relate to the delivery of declarations of survey and appeals to the court of survey) shall apply to such surveys whether or not they are made for the purpose of the issue of any certificate.

(5) In relation to surveys required by the cargo ship construction and survey rules which are carried out otherwise than by a surveyor of ships appointed under the Merchant Shipping Acts—

(a) so much of section 6 of the Act of 1952 as requires fees to be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer shall not apply; and

(b) the provisions applied by section 27 (2) of the Act of 1952 shall apply with such modifications as may be prescribed by the cargo ship construction and survey rules; and

(c) the definition of “declaration of survey” in section 3 of the Act of 1952 shall not apply.

(6) An order under subsection (3) (b) of this section may be varied or revoked by a subsequent order.